Parallels

The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dish-watery utterances of the man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States.

-The Chicago Times, reporting on Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

The President is no more than a well-meaning baboon. I went to the White House directly after tea, where I found ‘the Original Gorilla,’ about as intelligent as ever. What a specimen to be at the head of our affairs now.

-George McClellan, General-in-chief of the Union Army, writing of Lincoln

Dear President Obama,

We are writing to express our grave concern regarding the mental stability of our President-Elect. Professional standards do not permit us to venture a diagnosis for a public figure whom we have not evaluated personally. Nevertheless, his widely reported symptoms of mental instability — including grandiosity, impulsivity, hypersensitivity to slights or criticism, and an apparent inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality — lead us to question his fitness for the immense responsibilities of the office.

We strongly recommend that, in preparation for assuming these responsibilities, he receive a full medical and neuropsychiatric evaluation by an impartial team of investigators.